


Juno Steel and the Apple of Discord

by InterstellarVagabond



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: M/M, jupeter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-21 04:33:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13733229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InterstellarVagabond/pseuds/InterstellarVagabond
Summary: The Eris Code Ball: an annual party held by millionaire Marcellus Trent where all the best thieves, detectives, mercenaries and con-artists are invited to play a little game. On one side you have the law-breakers looking to steal the Eris Code, the most valued treasure of Marcellus's collection. On the other you have the law-keepers, there to stop the thieves at any cost. Juno didn't expect to see Peter here, though maybe he should have. This is the first time he's seen him since he abandoned him in that hotel room after the battle with Miasma, and that's going to make staying focused very hard. What's worse? Peter's brought a date.





	Juno Steel and the Apple of Discord

**Author's Note:**

> I want to thank everyone from the Juno Steel and The Incredibly Clever Server Name discord who helped by editing, drawing fanart, and screaming about how much I was hurting them. I couldn't have written this without you. This story holds a special place in my heart, it started as a goofy headcanon in the group chat and evolved into a heavy handed mythology metaphor hurt/comfort fic with an actual honest to gods plot! I'm kind of really proud of it, so maybe spread it around a little so everyone can see ;) Thanks for reading, travelers!

You couldn’t live on Mars without hearing about Marcellus Trent, the self-made multi-millionaire with cash to burn and a bored streak a mile wide. The source of their money? The Eris Code. 

 

This one data chip contained all the information one would ever need to play the stock market and win. Or so that’s how the story went, and no one was arguing it yet. Mostly people were too busy trying to get their hands on the code to stop and think about whether or not the stories were true, and Marcellus wasn’t about to discourage that behavior. 

 

No, if there was one thing you could always find true of the rich, it’s that they were bored and they had too much time on their hands. Which is how Trent came up with the idea to open their grand estate to every thief in the galaxy once a year. No security team, no laser grid, nothing but a regular safe and a couple hired cops, mercenaries, detectives...etc. 

 

Which is where Juno came in. When he’d received the invitation to participate in Trent’s little game of cat and mouse he’d been halfway to putting it through the shredder when Rita snatched it away and begged him for hours to reconsider. 

 

“Just think about the  _ intrigue _ of it all, Mistah Steel!” she cried. “All those thieves, and the fancy clothes, and the expensive food, it’ll be just like a spy movie!”

 

“Well, good thing I’m not a spy then,” Juno said, earning another pout from Rita. 

 

“Might I remind you that the power bill is three weeks overdue, and I’m not getting paid nearly enough to put up with fending off bill collectors and assassins both Mistah Steel I can only do one with this kinda salary!” Rita waved her hands about as she talked, the invitation flying about with them. “You better take this case or...or...I’ll go on strike! I just will!”

 

“You always say that, and then you come here to watch tv anyway,” Juno said.

 

“S’not my fault the office gets better reception,” Rita huffed. “Look at me, Mistah Steel! I’m taking the comms off the hook! I’m doing it! No more calls! No more cases! Not until you finish this one!”

 

Normally Juno didn’t pay Rita’s threats any mind but...she was right about the overdue bills. To say he’d had a dry spell would...well it would be more than an understatement. Why weren’t more people committing crimes? Juno sighed and realized he’d have to go to the damn party. And he didn’t have a thing to wear.

 

Meanwhile, just a few miles away at the spaceport, someone else was looking over their invitation with a rather more positive attitude. 

 

Peter Nureyev had been waiting for this invitation ever since his first foray into the criminal arts. Only thieves who had made quite the name for themselves (dramatic irony duly noted) made the cut, and finally Peter was among the select few invited to test their skills against the hired guards...the hired pawns, of Marcellus Trent. 

 

“Tell me, darling, would you like to attend a dance?” Nureyev grinned at his partner, a beautiful young thing with eyes as dangerous as a knife. 

 

“Why, Apollo, I thought you’d never ask.”

 

Minerva Hyacinth: a con-artist and assassin with a near spotless record. That was of course, if you could get your hand on the record which most people couldn’t. Anyone who came into contact with the cunning Minerva either parted with them as an ally, or didn’t live to tell the story. Luckily for Peter, he fell into the former category. Minerva was the first person he called when he received his invitation...though admittedly, not the first person he thought of. 

 

Well, that person wouldn’t have been too thrilled about committing a crime anyway. The only thing they’d ever stolen was Peter’s heart, and what a theft that was. Peter would be forever trying to top it.

 

No better chance than the annual Eris Ball though, and no better partner to have than Minerva. Peter would convince himself of that.

 

“You just stick to the plan and we’ll be splitting the profits of that code for years to come,” Minerva said as they disembarked. The con-artist was sporting a thick pair of sunglasses to hide their face, their golden curls cascading down over their shoulders. They looked like a lion ready for the hunt, and next to them was Peter the fox with his half-fanged smile and careful gaze taking in each detail of the station. Being on Mars was a little too close for comfort, but there was no way he was missing out on this chance. 

 

“Of course, dear,” Peter said with a shrug and a grin. “What do you take me for, an amateur?”

 

“Do you know the origin of the word amateur, sunshine?” Minerva said, lowering their sunglasses with a manicured finger and looking at Nureyev. “It’s French. For lover.”

 

Peter maintained his grin even as a cold washed over him. “Why, a linguist! You’re just full of hidden talents, aren’t you?”

 

“I’ve done my research on you,” Minerva said. “Seems you’ve grown a bit soft since our last team-up. I hope this detective won’t be a distraction for you.”

 

“I think the endless wealth will dominate my attention,” Peter remarked wryly, losing the patience to grin. 

“Good.” Minerva pushed their glasses back up. “Because guess who made the guest list?”

 

Nureyev didn’t bother checking the list on his comms, the point was clear enough. 

  
  


Juno stepped into the foyer in an outfit that would turn head, but be hell to run in. Rita had insisted he break out the little purple number he kept in the back of the closet and...well, he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t enjoying how he looked. 

 

Hard to conceal a gun in this dress though, but he managed. 

 

The whole ballroom was a study in gold: pillars decorated with gold leaf, the floor a crisscrossing pattern of black, white, and gold, the ceiling was painted with a fresco of sunny skies and...you guessed it, the sun radiated pure gold. If there was one thing Juno hated more than rich jerks, it was rich jerks with a fondness for the cliche. 

 

“Ah! Detective Steel!” 

 

Juno turned and found his hand grabbed and shaken vigorously by the host of the evening: Marcellus Trent. They seemed to want to match their house judging by the gold eyeliner and the beads decorating their braids. “So glad you could make it! I’ve just been dying to involve you in my little festivities ever since I heard about your involvement with the Pereyra affair.”

 

“Funny, and here I was thinking showing up with the corpse of a beloved mayor had made meunpopular,” Juno remarked. He still didn’t like to think about it. 

 

“Unpopular, popular, as long as people are talking about you I’d say that’s a win, isn’t it?” Marcellus said, patting Juno on the back a little too hard. He gestured out towards the ballroom before them just down a vast set of stairs. “Why, that’s why all these people are here. My infamy. It doesn’t matter if they like me or not, they know me. They know my power, and they want it. Think about that, detective. There’s power in a well-known name.”

 

Someone Juno had known had expressed a similar sentiment about the power of names. Marcellus was slowly getting on Juno’s nerves and that little reminder didn’t help.

 

“Well, enjoy the party, detective, and keep your eyes out for the criminal types, won’t you?” Marcellus said. “Oh, or was that insensitive of me?”

 

Juno winced, a hand flying up to the deactivated Theia against his will. He’d asked Rita to shut it down ever since he’d found it that it did more than improve his aim. It was a leash that tied him to Ramses like a guard dog, and he rather have bad depth perception than that. Word must have gotten out...or maybe it was just too obvious that his false eye was blankly staring frozen in place. 

Marcellus gave Juno one final grin before vanishing into the crowd to mingle with the rest of their guests. Juno decided to grab a drink and see if he still felt like doing any work tonight after that. 

 

Trying to get a whiskey from a bartender more concerned with his tower of champagne flutes was trouble enough...then more trouble entered through the front door wearing a fitted suit. 

 

Juno just about crushed his glass in his hand. 

 

Peter Nureyev. Right there, walking into the party with...a date?

 

Juno ducked behind the bar, peeking up to watch the thief. He pointedly ignored the bartender’s protests, or more accurately they were drowned out by the way his pulse was pounding in his ears.

 

_ He looks...fine. _ Juno found himself thinking sadly, and then he felt guilty. Of course he was fine, and Juno should want him to be fine. What kind of person leaves a man in the middle of the night breaking a fresh promise and then  _ wants _ them to feel bad about it?

 

Still, there was something about the way Peter was clinging to his date’s arm that was making Juno sick.

 

“Hey, you can’t be back here!” The bartender said, more urgently this time, and Juno figured that with Nureyev here he really shouldn’t get on the bartender’s bad side. He might need his services.

 

“Sorry pal, was just admiring the floor back here. Nice stuff,” Juno quipped, standing and straightening out his clothes nervously. 

 

Peter’s date was well muscled, and had chocolate brown eyes that looked right through a person. When they laughed, Peter laughed too, baring that dazzling smile that Juno had come to….

...tolerate. 

 

For a moment Juno wished his eye was still functional, then he could run a scan on this mystery person and find out just who the hell they were. Who they were to Peter. Unfortunately it looked like he was going to have to actually do detective work on this one.

 

No, no, he wasn’t going to do detective work on this one. He was going to mind his own business. He was going to prevent anyone from stealing the Eris Code, he was going to play this little game, drink as much free booze as he could, and then go home to pass out on the floor. He was not going to stalk Peter around the party looking at his gorgeous date with undertones of envy. 

In fact, he was going to watch every single thief in this room  _ except  _ Peter.

 

Juno started a tally. There was King Welsh from the Outer Rim, over there Manny Cruz a local, and on his arm was Blake Williams. Then there was Christina Jones, Ka’rin Sokor, Sabina Lyons, Alex Moore. This whole party was a who’s who of most wanted, and most of the people in this room wanted Juno dead. Honestly, that was something Juno could deal with. You always knew where your mortal enemies stood. 

 

As long as he knew where they stood maybe he could stop paying such close attention to where Peter was standing. Or rather, dancing now actually. 

 

He was twirling around the dance floor with that lion-looking date of his, the pair of them looking as careless as any regular partygoers. Were they even trying for the Eris Code? Or were they just waiting for an opening to go make out on the balcon-

 

_ No, Juno, focus. You don’t get to be jealous. Not after what you did. _

  
  


“So, how’s our competition looking?” Minerva asked, drawing closer to Peter as they waltzed about the dance floor. They ran a hand down Peter’s back, looking for all the world like a couple just trying to get a little handsy as they danced. It was the perfect excuse to lean in and whisper their plans. Not that anyone would fall for that, it was just tradition really.

 

“Boring,” Peter replied. He couldn’t tell if that was because the lineup for this year was especially lackluster or if it was because he had one guest in particular on his mind. A guest he was eager to avoid. He was managing to keep calm, doing his breathing and focusing on the task at hand. Why couldn’t he and Juno both attend a heist party together...separately, they were both adults after all. This was just business, and if he had to steal something out from under the detective’s nose well...it’s not like it would be the first time.

 

“You could give me more to work with than that,” Minerva sighed. “Has anyone made a move yet? Any weapons drawn? You need to focus.”

 

“There’s nothing I could tell you that you don’t already know, that’s why I brought you along,” Peter shot back. “It’s your job to watch for knives in my back, and my job to crack the safe while no one’s looking.”

 

“Speaking of knives in your back…” Minerva drawled, gazing over Peter’s shoulder where a gruff detective was looking pointedly in every direction that wasn’t theirs. 

 

Peter didn’t look. He wasn’t about to play this game with Minerva tonight. He had one job to do, one job. He would get the Eris Code, secure his name amongst the greatest thieves, and go home with quite a bit of spending money. He wasn’t going to look. He wasn’t…

He looked. Maybe it was because Minerva spun him at that moment in an act of teasing cruelty or maybe his willpower just wasn’t as strong as he thought it was, but he looked and there was Juno in a deep mauve dress, standing by the bar with a look on his face that was impossible to decipher. 

 

Maybe it was just that instinct humans still held onto from the days of predator and prey that let them know when someone was looking at them, or maybe Juno had been watching him out of the corner of his eye the whole time but...Juno looked back. 

 

Peter found himself smiling, sadly but smiling. 

 

_ I’m so glad to see you.  _

_ But damn it hurts to see you. _

 

At least, that’s what Juno thought the smile said. He didn’t really look at it long enough to get the full message. 

 

This could have gone on forever, Juno avoiding Peter and Peter avoiding Juno and Minerva taunting Peter and both Peter and Juno trying to just shut their brains up and focus on the Eris Code challenge, but there were other guests at this function with less baggage weighing them down.

 

One of them had managed to set off the sprinklers. 

 

“Guests, I’m sorry for this malfunction of the fire suppressant system!” Marcellus said, gesturing for people to leave as fancy dresses and suits were ruined by decade old water. “Please make your way out of the building until we can resolve this.”

 

Marcellus’s eyes caught Juno’s as he spoke, and they winked at him. They knew that the game had just started. 

 

Juno had no idea how they managed to keep the Eris Code for so long if this was how they played things: just trusting whoever they invited on the lawkeeper side to be that much better than the lawbreaker side. Well, Juno wasn’t about to break their streak tonight, so he ran off towards the private wing of the manor.

 

He wasn’t the only one. Minerva nodded at Peter, and the pair shed high heels to take off towards the safe. 

  
  


“Detective Steel!” 

 

Juno turned around and saw Ka’rin tailing him, a gun drawn and pointed at his back. “You may as well stay in the ballroom, sweetheart. I’ll be having that code.”

 

“A hundred thieves and a hundred cops and you think it’s gonna be as easy as shooting me?” Juno said. “I mean I’m flattered and a bit tempted but…”

 

“Out of the way!” Ka’rin fired off a shot and Juno jumped to the side almost knocking over a priceless bust as he did. He was reaching for his own gun when he heard Ka’rin cry out. He looked up and Manny was standing over her fallen form, her gun now in his possession.

 

“Au revoir, detective,” he said with a wink, running off with the crowd. 

 

“What? You don’t wanna shoot me?” Juno yelled after him. “Ka’rin thought I was good enough to shoot!”

 

Peter and Minerva were also fending off competition in a hallway just to the left of where Juno was panting trying to catch up to Manny. 

 

Minerva ripped out Christina’s throat with their special metal manicure. Peter twirled a knife in his fingers. 

 

“You know King, I respect you quite a bit. I hate to kill you,” he grinned, showing sharp canines. 

 

King just wordlessly screamed and charged at Peter with brass knuckles glinting in the light. Peter sighed and easily dodged the attack, driving his knife up through King’s throat. 

 

“Well that was a waste.”

 

“Cry about it later, we’re losing footing,” Minerva said, grabbing Peter’s hand and tugging him along. “I could leave you here you know, I could leave you and take the code for myself but here I am being generous.”

 

“Oh, don’t pretend like we’re friends, Minny,” Peter said with a scowl. “You respect the game as much as I do, that’s all. I got the invitation, you’re my plus one. You want to finish this with me because I’m the only one that’s really supposed to be here.”

 

“Less analyzing, more running,” Minerva said, flinging Peter at a detective in their path. Peter readied his knife as the detective ran towards him with a baton and…

 

…

 

Peter twirled the knife so that the it was the dull end that struck the detective in the temple. The lawkeeper slumped to the ground at Minerva’s feet, and as Peter’s eyes rose to their expression he knew he was found out. 

 

“You really have gone soft,” Minerva sighed. “But at least you’ll still kill the bad ones, right? That’s something, _ right _ ?”

 

“Maybe having a little respect for life isn’t soft,” Peter said. Minerva nodded, their lips pulled tight.

 

“Fair enough, Apollo. Let’s just get this over with.”

  
  


Juno groaned as he came to yet another set of stairs. This house was enormous and it seemed it was mostly uphill. He made it up those stairs just to be faced with another set and groaned again this time with feeling. 

 

“Now I’m kinda wishing Ka’rin did shoot me, that would have been faster,” he sighed as he continued his ascent. He was lucky enough not to cross anyone that still had a pulse or any sense of consciousness. Well...lucky in the sense that he didn’t have to fight, but unlucky because that meant he was behind. 

 

A disturbing amount of the corpses he passed had necks that were slashed to hell, bleeding out onto their party clothes staining them red with the last of their life. Juno wondered if that was Peter’s handiwork. 

 

He’d find out soon enough, if he got to the summit and Peter was still there...alive and unharmed. 

 

The thought that Peter might not survive this little game hit Juno like a battering ram, and he actually stumbled. 

 

_ Why would he put his life on the line for...no, you don’t have the right to worry about how he treats his life. You could have had a say in it, could have run off on a dozen adventures and been there to watch his back the whole time but you left him alone...now he has someone else watching his back.  _

 

Juno thought about the lion digging their claws into Peter...and Peter enjoying it. 

 

“This is so stupid!” he yelled out loud, kicking the wall. He was trying to stop a hundred thefts and he couldn’t stop thinking about two thieves in particular. He was going to lose this game if he didn’t pick up the pace. 

 

Juno finally made it to the vault room, and just in time because Peter and Minerva were already there. Peter kneeling down by the safe, and Minerva watching his back with claws bared.

 

When Juno kicked down the door Peter’s head whipped around and they saw each other again. They froze like deer in two different sets of headlights, and then Peter turned back to the safe. 

 

“Welcome to the party, detective.” Minerva stepped forward, their nails glittering dangerously. Juno could see the sheen of blood on them, and he knew that this manicure wasn’t just for show.

 

Juno’s mouth was dry, and for once in his life he didn’t have a clever comeback. 

 

“Well? Make your move,” Minerva said, and when Juno looked at their eyes he could see that while they didn’t want to kill him they would if he tried anything. Juno could try to get his gun from its holster in time, but if he fumbled or was too slow those nails would be in his throat in an instant. There was another option, a safer one but ultimately more painful.

 

“...let’s talk,” he said, looking past Minerva to Peter. He didn’t know what name he was using right now, so he fell back to a classic. “Duke. Let’s talk.”

 

Peter flinched, but otherwise gave no indication he heard Juno. He kept at cracking the safe, and Minerva laughed coldly at the snub. 

 

“Don’t get emotional, detective,” they said. “That’s just not fair. This game isn’t about personal affairs, it’s about skill. It’s about the law versus desire. This game is about seeing which is stronger: your morality or my desire to have what I want.”

 

“...what makes you think morality is what brought me here?” Juno said, licking his lips and wishing his hands weren’t shaking. “...maybe I’m here for desire too.”

 

Minerva tilted their head, like a cat watching a bug it had just flipped onto its back. “That so? I must say Steel, that from what I know of you desire isn’t exactly your driving factor.”

 

“Yeah, well I’ve never been too good at holding onto the things I love,” Juno said. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t still wish I had them.”

 

“That’s a nice sentiment and all,” Minerva sighed, looking bored, “but we’re still going to leave with the Eris code.”

 

“Wha...it’s empty,” Peter spoked up suddenly.

 

“What do you mean it’s empty?” Minerva whipped around, stalking over to the safe and gently pushing Peter out of the way so they could look. “But...that’s the game, there’s no tricks it’s supposed to be here our only opposition is the law keepers and the other thieves...it’s supposed to be here! Someone must have gotten to it first!”

 

“Actually, you were the first ones here.”

 

The three occupants of the room looked up as Marcellus Trent walked in through a side door, clapping their hands with a grin on their face.

 

“Congratulations, you did it,” Marcellus said. “One of mmm….twenty or so, other game players.”

 

“Where’s the code, Trent?” Minerva growled, pressing Trent against the wall and putting their nails to their throat. 

 

Marcellus just laughed, tears streaming from their eyes with the joy of it all. “Oh, oh Minerva for someone named after a goddess you really don’t know your myths at all. Perhaps Juno here could explain?”

 

Juno shrugged, shaking his head. “I’m lost here too, mind explaining your needlessly complicated plot so we can all go home?”

 

“Eris,” Marcellus smiled. “Eris is the goddess of chaos and discord. And Eris is the goddess that started the Trojan War. Do you know how she did it?”

 

Juno sighed, thinking back to old stories he used to read to Ben under the blanket with a flashlight. “Yeah, she dumped a golden apple into the middle of a godly dinner and said it was for the fairest.”

 

“She dangled a prize before the noses of the gods and watched them all squabble over it,” Marcellus said. “Well, that’s just what I did...except...there’s no prize.”

 

Peter shook his head, frowning as he realized the extent to which they had been played.

 

“There has to be a prize!” Minerva growled. “Even if the code isn’t here it’s somewhere and we can still steal it from you!”

 

“Really, Minerva, a code that navigates the stock market? We may be living in the future but that’s just science fiction,” Marcellus scowled. “I didn’t make my money with some code, I just worked hard to get it, just as you and your partner there worked hard to make it to the top of the estate.”

 

“So what…you just made up some fake code to draw in a bunch of people and watch them kill each other every year?” Juno said, his voice cracking with emotion. 

 

“Yes, exactly,” Marcellus grinned. “You’re catching up, Juno.”

 

“Seriously, do either of you goody-two shoes care if I kill this guy?” Minerva asked, looking back at Peter and Juno.

 

“I mean, yeah murder is still murder…” Juno sighed, exasperated. 

 

“Wait…” Peter said thoughtfully. “How has no one figured this out before? You said about twenty other people won your game...and surely if it’s this easy to make it to the safe then others would have seen that your prize is a ruse. How hasn’t that gotten out?”

 

“Well...usually because they don’t get out,” Marcellus said with a shrug. “It’s their choice of course...they can keep silent, stay here in the manor, and help me plan my parties or…”

 

They didn’t have to elaborate further, as the armed guards making their way into the room made the point quite clear. They stood around the three of them, an armed wall of muscle in bullet proof vests with radios in their ears. Minerva immediately pulled Marcellus in front of themselves, nails close enough to Marcellus’s throat to draw a little blood.

 

“Oh, don’t bother taking a hostage,” Marcellus sighed. “Minerva, dear, I plan these parties out of boredom, you really think I’m the sort of person to prefer my life over the thrill of it all? They have strict orders to shoot anyone who doesn’t come into the fold even if that means shooting me.”

 

Juno took slow careful steps over to Peter, his body acting independent of his mind. He pushed Peter behind him and watched the gumen carefully. Juno couldn’t see it, but Peter looked shocked. He was torn between being angry that the detective thought he could still throw away his life for him, and being...touched that he still would.

 

“So, what will it be...be my agents of discord and keep my parties going another year...or try to get out and spill the beans...but just spill blood,” Marcellus said, eyes narrowing.

 

“Juno…” Peter whispered, and his hand found its way into the detective’s. “Just like old times, huh? Why do we always have to meet like this, facing off against death?”

 

“I think it’s romantic, you don’t think it’s romantic?” Juno chuckled, taking Peter’s hand and squeezing it tight.

 

As he did, he felt the comm unit Peter was holding. 

 

Suddenly, all the guards shouted as a high pitched wail went out across their radios, and when they reached up to pull out their earpieces the trapped trio sprung into action. 

 

Minerva tossed Marcellus like a human weapon into three of the guards, toppling them over. “Amateurs,” they scoffed, winking at Peter they did.

 

Peter was leaping up and slashing the throat of the nearest guard just as Juno was stunning another. Minerva ran over to the three she’d knocked over and finished them one by one with fierce jabs to their vitals. Marcellus was scrambling to their feet, and managed to get up into a crouch just as Juno’s gun came into contact with their forehead. 

 

“Well…” they laughed quietly, tongue running over their lips. “...did you all enjoy the party?”

 

Juno stunned him.

 

“You know sometimes I really miss when it was just ‘Detective Steel I think my wife is cheating on me, please find out!;” Juno rolled his eyes, and Peter laughed. Juno looked shocked at first, then he started laughing too. Soon the two of them were supporting each other as they dissolved into relieved giggles. Minerva just rolled their eyes. 

 

“You know, call me a fool for saying it but...I’m happy to see you, Juno,” Peter said, eyes sparkling. 

 

Juno felt guilt weighing heavy in his stomach like iron. “Well...that makes two of us…”

 

“Am I the third wheel now?” Minerva groaned, and Juno remembered all at once how Peter and Minerva had been clinging to each other on the dance floor. He pulled away from Peter and coughed, straightening his dress and looking at his feet. 

 

“We...we better get out of here,” he said. 

 

The trio left the room in complete silence. Minerva paused to pull a new pair of shoes off a corpse, and Juno paused at the bar to grab a bottle of scotch too expensive for him to afford normally but that was about it. They made it to the door and stood in awkward silence for a bit.

 

“...well it’s been swell, but this isn’t my baggage to deal with soooo…” Minerva sighed and leaned forward, giving Peter a kiss on the cheek. “Listen, Apollo, next time you need a plus one for a death party...lose my number.”

 

“Consider it lost, Minerva,” Peter joked back. Minerva smiled a little, then their lips turned into a frown. They turned with a lazy wave and disappeared into the night.

 

That left Peter and Juno, side by side on the marble balcony. It would be so easy to just take the stairs down to his car and leave Peter there like he left him in that hotel room not so long ago. Well...easy physically, Juno wasn’t sure if his heart could take it though.

 

“Planning to toast the night?” Peter asked, gesturing towards the bottle in Juno’s hand. Juno looked at the bottle and laughed quietly.

 

“Yeah, gonna toast to it till I forget it,” he said.

 

“Same old Juno Steel,” Peter said fondly. “I thought maybe...you changed.

 

Juno turned away, frowning. “No...Nureyev you know I don’t change.”

 

“I didn’t say that was a bad thing, Juno.”

 

Juno looked back at Peter again. He was resting his arms on the railing and looking out at the stars, his hair moving slightly in the wind. His suit was bloodstained and disheveled but...he looked nice. He looked good.

 

“It is a bad thing though…” Juno said, his hand clenching tight around the bottle. “If a bad person refuses to change, that’s a bad thing.”

 

“I don’t think there’s such a thing as bad people, not really,” Peter said. “I think there’s people who do bad things, people who do good things, and people who do both. Well...maybe Marcellus was a bad person.” he laughed, and then looked Juno in the eye. “But you’re not.”

 

“Nur-...Peter, I fucking left you, I promised you we’d see the stars together and I left you!” Juno cried out, and he was crying now, quiet tears running from his one good eye. “Why don’t you hate me?”

 

“Hate?” Peter shook his head. “Juno, I was angry, I was hurt, I was sad. I never hated you though. I can love someone and still be furious with them, still feel hurt by them...it doesn’t mean I stop loving them...it doesn’t mean I stopped loving you.”

 

“That’s dumb.” Juno shook his head, laughter and crying mixing in the hitching of his voice. 

 

“That’s love, detective,” Peter said, closing the gap between them. He held a hand out, close to Juno’s cheek as if waiting for permission. Juno nodded, closing his eyes and leaning into the gesture as Peter cupped his cheek. Peter’s other hand went to the back of Juno’s head, fingers playing in his hair. He leaned forward until Juno could feel his hot breath on his face, and maybe they were both crying a little at this point. 

 

“Peter...you don’t...you don’t want to do this,” Juno breathed. 

 

“Don’t presume to know what I want, Juno,” Peter replied, and he kissed him. Juno kissed back, hating himself for it. Hating himself for being weak enough to want Peter and not have the strength to keep him.

When they pulled away Peter removed his glasses to wipe the tears and kiss smudges from them. He looked up at Juno with bare eyes and smiled softly. “We don’t have to jump into it all at once, Juno. We don’t have to roam the stars, taking the galaxy by storm. We can just...we can just take it slow. I’m sorry I made it seem like I needed you to be ready for it all at once.”

 

“Don’t...don’t be sorry, Nureyev,” Juno groaned. 

 

“I am, I’m allowed,” Peter huffed. 

 

“Well, I’m sorry too…” Juno said. “...I’m so so sorry, I’m so sorry Peter I...I’m so…” 

 

He walked forward and pressed his forehead against Peter’s chest, trying to hold back the tears. Peter put his arms around Juno, one of them patting his back. “What do you say we go to your place, drink that stolen scotch and worry about this tomorrow, hm?”

 

“...I’d like that,” Juno rasped, his throat raw from the tears. 

 

“Come on,” Peter took Juno’s hand. “We have plenty of time to worry about this. Tonight let’s just...let’s just be together.”

 

Juno nodded, and slumped against Peter’s side, letting the taller man lead them down the stairs to Juno’s car. It had been an exhausting night and Juno was covered in bruises; physical and emotional...but, the thought of waking up next to Peter Nureyev...that made it worth it.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
